Motor bracket and clamp assembly



Aug. 29, 1961 s. 5. BROWN MOTOR BRACKET AND CLAMP ASSEMBLY Filed March 4, 1959 INVENTOR. STE EIV 5- BROWN I) BY xiv/A F) TTORNEVS Elite hlo Filed Mar. 4, 1959, Ser. No. 797,138 2 Claims. (Cl; 24814) This invention relates toa clamp device and is particularly concerned with an extremely simple and novel clamp arrangement for supporting a motor on the frame of a bed such as a hospital bed so that it can readily be connected with the shaft of the bed which it is to operate.

Heretofore, in constructing hospital beds having motorized adjustments, or in motorizing the adjustments of manually operated beds, expensive and heavy brackets and the like have been used for connecting the motor to the frame of the hospital bed or for mounting the motor on the frame of the bed. This has been an expensive arrangement that has hindered the motorizing of existing beds and has caused beds of new manufacture to be more expensive and complicated than desired.

With the foregoing in mind, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a support bracket or clamp for mounting an electric motor on the frame of a hospital bed or the like which is extremely inexpensive and compact.

Another object is to provide a clamp arrangement of the nature referred to which makes it extremely simple to attach a motor to the frame of a hospital bed.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of the combination of a geared head motor having a special cast head thereon adapted for coupling with a sinmple clamp so that the motor can be clamped to one of the end rails of a hospital bed with the shaft in alignment with the adjustment shaft of the bed which it is to operate.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a motor frame constructed especially for use with a clamp of the nature referred to but which motor construction can also be utilized for another purpose.

These and other objects and advantages will become more apparent upon reference to the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a hospital bed;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view through the end rail of the bed as indicated by line 22 and with the frame of the motor partly in section showing how the motor is supported on the end rail of the bed; and

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view showing the novel clamp of this invention.

Referring to the drawing somewhat more in detail, bed of FIGURE 1 has one or more movable portions 12 which are adapted for being elevated or moved by rotation of one or more adjustment shafts. One of the adjustment shafts of the bed is indicated at 14 adjacent the foot of the bed and attached thereto is a reversible electric motor 16 and which drives through a speed reducing geared head 18.

Reference to FIGURE 2 will show that motor 16 has an output shaft 20 driving a worm 22 that engages a worm wheel 24 that is keyed to transverse shaft 26 which is connected as by coupling 28 with shaft 14 so that energization of the motor will cause the shaft to rotate. The gear referred to is disposed within a specially shaped end frame casting 30 of the motor which is characterized in having a portion on the side of worm wheel 24 opposite the motor output shaft extending upwardly a substantial distance from the worm wheel and terminating in a flat surface 32. This surface is adapted for abutting the un derside of end rail 34 of the bed. The attachment of the motor to the end rail is accomplished by a special clamp 36 which is shaped to engage the outer face of the end rail. In this case the end rail is angular and clamp 36 is accordingly an angular member so that the two legs thereof will engage the front and top faces of the angle end member 34. The lower end of the vertical leg part 38 of the angular clamp is bent over as at 40 so as to hook over the lowermost edge of the vertical leg of the rail 34.

The horizontal leg 42 extends across the top of the rail and is provided with slots 44 (see FIGURE 3) through which clamp screws 46 pass and which screws 46 are threaded into threaded bores 48 in the top part of the casting 30.

The extreme left end tip of top leg 42 of the clamp as is viewed in FIGURE 3 is turned down as at 48 to form a lip along the edge of the clamp which is preferably of the same dimensions as the thickness of the top leg of the end rail 34. When screws 46 are tightened the motor will be firmly supported because of the engagement of the end frame casting 30 thereof with the underside of the horizontal leg of the angle and with the turned down lip 48 of the clamp member.

The arrangement is such that it becomes extremely simple to mount a motor on an existing hospital bed and furthermore the same construction can be employed with new manufacture thereby permitting motorized beds to be produced as new manufacture without any modification in the frame structure.

It will be evident that differences in the distance from the end rail to the adjusting shaft could be compensated by introducing shims beneath the end rail and the turn down lip of the clamp and the upper surface of the casting 30. The motor would still be tightly and fixedly clamped to the rail by the use of the screw 46, or by somewhat longer screws if necessary.

It will also be evident that while the clamp illustrated will accommodate substantially all bed frames on which motors are to be mounted, some modification in the exact dimensions and shape of the clamp could be made without in any way departing from the spirit of the present invention.

It will be understood that this invention is susceptible to modification in order to adapt it to different usages and conditions; and, accordingly, it is desired to comprehend such modifications within this invention as may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A clamp for attaching an electric motor or like member to an angle frame member of a hospital bed, a motor frame on which said motor is mounted, said clamp comprising first and second leg portions disposed at the same angle to each other as the legs of said frame member, the first leg of the said clamp having a reverse bend therein to engage over the edge of the one of the legs of said frame member, the second leg of the clamp extending beyond the edge of the other leg of said frame member and having its extreme end part bent down to present an edge which is in the same place as the inside surface of the said other leg of said frame member, said motor frame member being adapted to engage the underside of the said other leg of said angle frame member and the turned down end part of the said second leg of the clamp, and screw threaded means extending through the said second leg of the clamp and engaging the said motor frame member on which said motor is mounted.

2. A clamp for attaching an electric motor or like member, the second leg of the clamp extending beyond the edge of the other leg of said frame member and having its.- extreme end part bent down to present a terminal edge portion which abuts against the casting member of said motor frame and which terminal edge portion lies in the same plane as the inside surface of the said other leg of said frame member, said motor frame member being adapted to engage the underside of the said other leg of said angle frame member and the turned down end part of the said second leg of the clamp, and a screw threaded means extending through the said second leg of the clamp and engaging the said motor frame member on which said motor is mounted.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Horner Sept. 6, 1932 Skalarek Jan. 2, 1951 McKnight Dec. 15, 1953 Samuels -2 Jan. 12, 1954 Helsel Sept. 24, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Ian. 3, 1918 France Dec. 26, 1923 (Addition to No. 551,857) 

